Football instructing device



Jan. 11, 1949. C, A ENGLE l l FOOTBALL INSTRUCTING DEVICEl Filed Feb. 5,1945 INVENTOR C or/e S BY Z AT1-ings Patented Jan. 1l, 1949 TED @FFI CTE:12,458,2is4 y F00TBALLINSTRUCTINGDEVICE -Ichanes AiEngle, newsticker,n.1.

.Application February 5, 1-945,`S'erialNo. "57 6,;305

4 claims. (el. :ia-29a kfinvimtion Avrelates to 'the game of footballand 'has :particular reference to teaching the lgame of football.

The game of football has I'developed to the point where vthe accurateAand *precise #movement 'of the players `is -of importance. v'In orderAthat :the `football player may Imarry y"out predetermined 'andprearranged xmovement *it isneoessary =that considerable practiceiberesortei to. The Ientire team consisting of a line and lthe `lbackshave practiced Ias `la iunit in lorder 4@that La line 'and 'backs-rnaysmove in coordination. back determines his course of movement "bythe :position 'ofthe 'men -in the ll'i-n'e Jand Iin lorderto-'accurately carry -out the movement rof `backs it has been necessary'to have the-men 2in -a line in orderth'at the back may visualize wherehe is to move with reference to the men in the line. In many instancesthis .sort of ,practice occupies the time of the line men purely for'the benet of the imnvementaof thebacks.

One of the objects of this invention '-is to provide a device which`will enablethenien in the line of football teams to occupy themselveswith other ltraining while still' providing a visual lo- 4cationof the`men in the line with reference 'to which Athe movement of the backsoccurs.

lAnother obiect of this invention is to lprov-ide la ,device which will-act as a 'substitute for 4the line and lwill illustrate -to 'the backthe position of the line and the individual men thereof'iso :that in histrain-ing he may lmovewith reference :tothe line -just as if thel linemen were 'there and moving forward themselves.

Another object of this invention is to provide a substitute line whichmay be easily handled but which may be stretched taut upon the groundand there anchored in place.

Another object of the invention is to provide a line the anchoring meansfor which may be detached so that the line may be used upon a hard woodfloor such as in a gymnasium or the like if desired.

Another object of this invention is to provide a line which is shiftableby being made of detachable sections which may be attached in an orderdifferent from that of the normal balanced line.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction, as will be more fully described andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustratingthe in- -structing ideviceein position on fth'e ground with 1.players1in position 'reference thereto;

fFig; f2 iis/fa sectional view through lthe device;

Fi'g. F3 is fa perspective -viewfof an end of the fnfexibleportionof'ithe device showing the Aey-el-et :openings 'lin Sthe endtheredf';

IFlig. y'4. is fa perspective view ofene oi Atheaiifchors fior 'the end;

y Fig. 5 is a top plan viewfofa modified *form/of the :device: l

Fig. 6 isya sectional view thereof yshowing v'a firagrnenta'l :portionithereof :only upon an en- Slfarged scale;

inproce'eding Iwith thisinventionv I provide la istrip 1offtexti-lemateia-l', such as canvas, 'which will ibe substantially thetlerig'th' of jthe normal `balanced Iline ora fiootballfteamfand bycertain prominent viiidicia-Ifd'ivifde up this" strip into secftiens.iso that fthe' position "of' each o'f' the players the line ima-y bereadily 'apparent when stantiing a A'distance from thelin'e lfat whichthe 'backs ci" the irfootball team ywould "ordinarily stand. 1I liurtherprovide "a means 'for anchoring this canvasstripon the ground soa-s to'-hold'the samejin a taut position. This line may then be 'substitatenfor the actual players in the 'line .and teaching of the movements ofthe "backs `with referenceto the -'line 'mayproceed 'in' 'a normalmanner while :the line playersina'y be given vother instruction.

vWith reference-to the' "drawing, ILD designates generally a' Strip oivvcanvas which'inay 'be suitably seamed along its longitudinal straightedges Il and I2. At the end I4 (see Fig. 3) of this canvas strip, Iprovide openings I5, I'5, which may be suitably reinforced by grommetsif desired. An anchor designated generally I6 and consisting of a frameI'l tapered on its opposite edges is provided with hooked or curvedspikes I8 and I8 positioned a distance apart equal to the distancebetween the openings I5, I5. The end portion Illof the canvas strip maybe placed beneath this anchor I'l with the spikes I8 extending throughthe openings I5, I5 as shown in Fig. 4 and then the upper part of thecanvas may be disposed over the top of the anchor I6 as shown in Fig. 2so as to rmly anchor one end of the canvas strip in position whilecovering the anchor. 'Ihe canvas strip is then stretched taut and theopposite end is anchored in position as shown in Fig. 2 so as to disposethe same over the ground in a taut manner. These anchors may be readilydetached from the strip if desired enabling the strip to be placed upona hard floor gymnasium where instruction work may be proceeded with inbad weather.

In order that the position of the players may be readily apparent, Ihave provided marks at spaced intervals along the strip dividing thesame into rectangular sections 2l which will correspond in length to theposition of the player in that section. Thus the center section 22 ismarked with a C to indicate the center, the next sections 23, 23' aremarked with a G to indicate the position of the guard, the next sections24, 24 are marked with a T to indicate the position of the tackles, andthen the end sections 25, 25' are marked with an n to indicatedisposition of the i end. A space between the sections 24 and 25indicates the spacing of the ends from the tackles.

With an arrangement thus provided, the straight edges of the stripprovide a meansto indicate the general extent of the line on the playingeld ,while the markings, on the strip indicate the position of theplayers in the line. The backs may run with reference to these positionsof the players to practice their foot work and timing in getting off theplays which they are taught. During this time the players which wouldordinarily occupy positions `in the line While the backs are practicingcan devote their attention to other instruction work.

In order to practice signal work, the positions may be numbered in thespaces 26 shown in each of the sections, such as by marking with chalk.This provides an opportunity for visual signal drill which assists infixing signals in the mind of the player,

In some cases it is desirable to practice with the line in an unbalancedposition and in this case I have provided that portions of the line asshown in Figs. 5 and 6 may be formed of sections 30 and detached fromeach other so that for instance the tackles may be placed together konthe same side of the center or various combinations may be provided bysnapping the sections together in a selected arrangement. For thispurpose studs v3| are positioned at the ends of one section whilesockets 32 to resiliently clasp therewith are positioned atthe ends ofan adjacent section. Thus, the detachment may be had and reassembly inorder to afford the line of the correct selection which may: exist incertain plays of the game. This affordsthe backs an opportunity topractice with an unbalanced 1line as well as the usual balancedformation, and by approaching from the opposite side the balance may bereversed thus getting practice in foot work and precision of movementwhich can occur only with a predetermined layout representing the actualposition of the players on the field.

Iclaim:

1. A device for instructing the playing of football comprising a panelshaped to indicate the general extent of the line of players of afootball team and means on said panel dividing it into sectorscorresponding with the position of the different players-comprising saidline whereby the position of the players in the line may be determinedWithout the presence of the player in the line, said panel beingprovided with spikes curved toward the middle oi the panel to draw thepanel taut as they are positioned in the ground. Y

2. A device for instructing the playing of footvball comprising a panelshaped to indicate the general extent of the line of players of afootball team and kmeans on said panel -dividing it into sectorscorresponding with the position of the diierent players comprising saidline whereby the position of the players in the line may be determinedwithout the presence of the player REFERENCES CITED vThe followingreferences are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,452,340 Hubbard Apr. 1'7, 19231,484,390 Gibbs Feb. 19, 1924 1,605,662 Kayser Nov. 2, 1926 1,954,424Otwell Apr. 10,1934 1,986,941 Pearson -4 Jan. 3, 1935 2,158,475 MontineMay 16, 1939 2,236,894 Chittick Apr. 1, 1941 2,354,050

Paupa July 18, 1944.

